Companies and institutions performing biologic and/or chemical research or development activities generally employ outside providers of materials and/or analysis. These providers supply such things as specialized analysis, particular reagents or enzymes, cell lines or living research organisms with particular characteristics, specific compounds or molecules, or cassettes containing a variety of compounds (i.e. pharmaceutical or enzymatic agents) to aid in assaying a group of compounds against a particular target. Other providers perform synthesis of particular molecules, such as oligonucleotides or polypeptides by specifying their sequences using a communication channel.
However, there are a number of limitations to most such services. In particular, such services generally provide either preexisting compounds or compounds that are sequence-specified by the user. Customers therefore cannot use such services to create entirely new compounds. Using outside services to assist in creating entirely new compounds is generally an expensive and highly customized process of collaborative research. The end product of such research collaborations is generally a single molecule or limited set of screened molecules that are thought to be of interest.
Another limitation to using outside services, including collaborative research arrangements, is that institutions performing biologic and/or chemical research or development activities are at times often highly protective of their activities. A company that wishes to target a particular human enzyme or gene with a particular type of compound, for example, may not wish to reveal both the target and the characteristics of the candidate compound. However, in most molecular development projects, a target is provided to the service provider for screening purposes. Thus, there remains a continuing need for novel methods and/or systems for supplying chemical and/or biologic services.
Communication Using Networked Information Appliances
The Internet comprises computers, information appliances, and computer networks that are interconnected through communication links. The interconnected computers exchange information using various services, such as electronic mail, ftp, the World Wide Web (“WWW”) and other services, including secure services. The WWW service can be understood as allowing a server computer system (e.g., a Web server or a Web site) to send web pages of information to a remote client information appliance or computer system. The remote client computer system can then display the web pages. Generally, each resource (e.g., computer or web page) of the WWW is uniquely identifiable by a Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”). To view or interact with a specific web page, a client computer system specifies a URL for that web page in a request. The request is forwarded to a server that supports that web page. When the server receives the request, it sends that web page to the client information system. When the client computer system receives that web page, it can display the web page using a browser or can interact with the web page or interface as otherwise provided. A browser is a logic module that effects the requesting of web pages and displaying or interacting with web pages.
Currently, displayable web pages are typically defined using a Hyper Text Markup Language (“HTML”). HTML provides a standard set of tags that define how a web page is to be displayed. An HTML document contains various tags that control the displaying of text, graphics, controls, and other features. The HTML document may contain URLs of other Web pages available on that server computer system or other server computer systems. URLs can also indicate other types of interfaces, including such things as CGI scripts or executable interfaces, that information appliances use to communicate with remote information appliances or servers without necessarily displaying information to a user.
The Internet is especially conducive to providing information services to one or more remote customers. Services can include items (e.g., music or stock quotes) that are delivered electronically to a purchaser over the Internet. Services can also include handling orders for items (e.g., groceries, books, or chemical or biologic compounds, etc.) that may be delivered through conventional distribution channels (e.g., a common carrier). Services may also include handling orders for items, such as airline or theater reservations, that a purchaser accesses at a later time. A server computer system may provide an electronic version of an interface that lists items or services that are available. A user or a potential purchaser may access the interface using a browser and select various items of interest. When the user has completed selecting the items desired, the server computer system may then prompt the user for information needed to complete the service. This transaction-specific order information may include the purchaser's name or other identification, an identification for payment (such as a corporate purchase order number or account number), or additional information needed to complete the service, such as flight information.
NCBI Databases and Software
Among services of particular interest that can be provided over the internet and over other networks are biological data and biological databases. Such services include a variety of services provided by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NCBI is charged with creating automated systems for storing and analyzing knowledge about molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics; facilitating the use of such databases and software by the research and medical community; coordinating efforts to gather biotechnology information both nationally and internationally; and performing research into advanced methods of computer-based information processing for analyzing the structure and function of biologically important molecules.
For example, NCBI holds responsibility for the GenBank DNA sequence database. The database has been constructed from sequences submitted by individual laboratories and by data exchange with the international nucleotide sequence databases, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the DNA Database of Japan (DDBJ), and includes patent sequence data submitted to the U.S. patent office. In addition to GenBank, NCBI supports and distributes a variety of databases for the medical and scientific communities. These include the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), the Molecular Modeling Database (MMDB) of 3D protein structures, the Unique Human Gene Sequence Collection (UniGene), a Gene Map of the Human Genome, the Taxonomy Browser, and the Cancer Genome Anatomy Project (CGAP), in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute. Entrez is NCBI's search and retrieval system that provides users with integrated access to sequence, mapping, taxonomy, and structural data. Entrez also provides graphical views of sequences and chromosome maps. A feature of Entrez is the ability to retrieve related sequences, structures, and references. BLAST is a program for sequence similarity searching developed at NCBI for identifying genes and genetic features that can execute sequence searches against the entire DNA database. Additional software tools provided by NCBI include: Open Reading Frame Finder (ORF Finder), Electronic PCR, and the sequence submission tools, Sequin and BankIt. NCBI's various databases and software tools are available from the WWW or by FTP or by e-mail servers. Further information is available at www(.)ncbi(.)nlm(.)nih(.)gov.
CHIME
Some biologic data available over the internet is data that is generally viewed with a special browser “plug-in” or other executable code. One example of such a system is CHIME, a browser plug-in that allows an interactive virtual 3-dimensional display of molecular structures, including biological molecular structures. Further information regarding CHIME is available at www(.)mdlchime(.)com(/)chime/.
Online Oligos, Gene, or Protein Ordering
A variety of companies and institutions provide online systems for ordering biological compounds. Examples of such systems can be found at www(.)genosys(.)com(/)oligo_custinfo.cfm or www(.)genomictechnologies(.)com/Qbrowser2_FP(.)html. Typically, these systems accept some descriptor of a desired biological compound (such as an oligo, DNA strand, RNA strand, amino acid sequence, etc.) and then the requested compound is manufactured and is shipped to the customer in a liquid solution or other appropriate form.